When Xie Jingchu woke up from the bed the next day, it was already afternoon.
He had a splitting headache. Frowning, he gently patted his head.
He couldn't remember what had happened last night.
"Qin Yuan!" Xie Jingchu called out.
Hearing the voice, Qin Yuan immediately rushed in.
Xie Jingchu frowned tightly and scolded in a low voice, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier! I made an appointment with Boss Fang at the Fulou Restaurant to discuss business today."
"It... It was Miss Biao who said you should sleep a little longer. And..." Qin Yuan paused, stole a careful glance at Xie Jingchu, and then lowered his head and said, "Fourth Master, have you forgotten? Now those shops in your hands are all under the management of the Eldest Master. There's no need to go to Boss Fang's anymore..."
Hearing this, the hand that was gently massaging his temple stopped.
Yes, he had forgotten about this.
He was just an idle person now.
Then a sarcastic smile curled up on his lips.
Just then, Ruan Jiu walked in.
"You're awake?" Ruan Jiu said.
Then she handed the sobering soup in her hand to Xie Jingchu and said, "This sobering soup has been reheated several times. Drink it quickly."
When Xie Jingchu saw Ruan Jiu, his eyes lit up, and all the unhappiness in his heart just now vanished.
He tilted his head, raised his eyebrows, and said playfully, "Then feed me."
Hearing this, Qin Yuan beside them widened his eyes.
Was this something the Fourth Master could say?
Moreover, when had he become so intimate with Miss Biao?
No wonder the Fourth Master had been acting so abnormally these days!
Thinking of this, Qin Yuan seemed to have discovered a remarkable secret.
He tried hard to suppress his surprise, held his breath, and quietly slipped out of the room.
Seeing Xie Jingchu like this, Ruan Jiu guessed that his mood must have improved a lot.
"You're just drunk, not handicapped."
After saying that, she stuffed the sobering soup into Xie Jingchu's arms.
Then she continued, "Drink it quickly! Change your clothes after you're done. I'll wait for you outside."
"Wait for me for what?" Xie Jingchu asked.
"The Fourth Master is rarely so idle. How could I miss this opportunity?" Ruan Jiu blinked.
After hearing this, Xie Jingchu was secretly overjoyed.
Had this little guy finally come to his senses?
-
Ruan Jiu took Xie Jingchu outside the city.
It was a deserted place with unremarkable scenery.
It didn't look like a place for sightseeing at all.
"What did you bring me here for?" Xie Jingchu asked puzzledly.
Ruan Jiu bit her lip and said seriously, "Follow me."
She walked up to an old thatched cottage and stopped.
Xie Jingchu followed closely behind and looked in the direction of her gaze.
He saw Nanny Zhou in the yard, struggling to chop firewood with her aged body.
"What do you mean by this?" Xie Jingchu asked coldly.
Thinking of what Nanny Zhou had said yesterday, he couldn't help clenching his fists.
Ruan Jiu stepped forward, took his hands, and said, "Fourth Master, since you have doubts about your own background, why don't you find out for yourself?"
Ruan Jiu had thought it over carefully after she went back last night.
She also noticed something fishy about Old Master Xie's decision to make Xie Jing the head of the Xie family.
Xie Jingchu's drinking binge late at night couldn't have been just because he lost his position as the head.
He was scared. He was afraid that he was really the bastard that Xie Jing had called him.
And she would never let those "fears" crush him.
"Fourth Master, no matter what, I'll face it with you."
Ruan Jiu's gentle and firm voice seemed to give Xie Jingchu great courage.
He pursed his lips and then nodded vigorously.
When Nanny Zhou saw Xie Jingchu coming, she was startled at first, and then looked guilty.
Before he even got close, her eyes were already wet.
With a "plop", she knelt on the ground and shed tears.
"Fourth Master, I'm sorry for you!"
Xie Jingchu quickly helped Nanny Zhou up. "Nanny, get up and talk."
But Nanny Zhou refused. She still knelt there, burying her head on the ground, not daring to look Xie Jingchu in the eye.
"Fourth Master, my old master was seriously ill. I had no choice but to take the money from the Eldest Master!" Nanny Zhou cried.
Ruan Jiu glanced at the furnishings in the yard and couldn't find anything valuable.
There was also a faint coughing sound coming from inside the house.
It seemed that Nanny Zhou really had no other choice.
"Nanny, I don't blame you." Xie Jingchu said softly.
Hearing this, Nanny Zhou suddenly raised her head. "Really?"
Xie Jingchu nodded.
After all, Nanny Zhou had served him in the old mansion for ten years and accompanied him for ten years.
Only then did Nanny Zhou stand up, constantly wiping the tears on her face.
After Nanny Zhou's emotions had settled down.
Xie Jingchu said, "Nanny, I came today to ask about my background."
He paused and then continued, "Am I really not a member of the Xie family?"
Although Old Master Xie had been very sincere, there were still many doubts in his heart.
After hearing this, Nanny Zhou's expression froze, as if her thoughts had been pulled back twenty years ago.
After thinking for a long time, she said, "When I went to the old mansion that year, you were already three months old. However, judging from the love the old master and the old mistress had for you, you must be their child without a doubt."
"But why did the rumor that I wasn't a member of the Xie family spread in the mansion after I returned?" Xie Jingchu asked.
Nanny Zhou paused. After all, it had been a long time, and she couldn't remember many things clearly.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and immediately said, "It seems to have come from Caizhu, the old mistress's personal maid."
Hearing this, Xie Jingchu felt a faint uneasiness in his heart.
His hands couldn't help clasping together.
Seeing this, Ruan Jiu quickly placed her hands on Xie Jingchu's clasped hands.
She tried to ease the uneasiness in Xie Jingchu's heart in this way.
Nanny Zhou comforted him, "But Fourth Master, don't think too much. Caizhu was the old mistress's dowry maid, but she had delusions of becoming the old master's concubine. When it didn't work out, she became jealous and made up such a thing.
The old master was furious and had Caizhu beaten to death with a cane in a fit of anger. The old mistress even fell ill because of this."
After hearing this, the frown on Xie Jingchu's face relaxed a little.
Nanny Zhou saw the two of them holding hands so intimately.
A smile involuntarily appeared in her eyes.
She looked up at the sky, and her mind was filled with all the things that had happened in the past.
"Back then, when the old master and the old mistress left you in the old mansion, although your food, clothing, and daily necessities were all of the best quality, I knew you weren't happy. You often hid and cried alone at night.
Because you always hoped that you could be like an ordinary family, with your parents and brothers by your side.
Later, as you grew older, you became more and more thoughtful, and your personality became withdrawn. You never liked to be close to others. Even when the old master and the old mistress came, you just took a look from afar."
Nanny Zhou paused, pulled back her thoughts, and looked at the two of them.
A look of relief flashed in her eyes. "I thought no one in this world could warm your heart. Now that I see you like this, Nanny... Nanny is really happy!"
After hearing this, Ruan Jiu immediately withdrew her hand and shyly lowered her head.
Xie Jingchu looked at Ruan Jiu, hooked the corner of his mouth, and tightened his grip on her hand again.
Then he looked at Nanny Zhou and said with a smile,
"Fortunately, I met her later."